Proliferation of schools: a small-scale industry

I have heard people say over and over again that education remains a paramount value. And ignorance has been and continues to be a great disease. This is because; only education can contribute to the freedom of the intellect and the possibility of realizing our sociocultural and spiritual aspirations. I have practically seen the bright side of education, which is why I have created an advocacy group for education. Building a good education is good for society. I was a beneficiary of the schools built by one of the missionary heroes of our time, if not the greatest of them, Bishop Joseph Shanahan. He came to Africa with a missionary strategy popularly known as “the school method.” Bishop Shanahan came, saw, and conquered. He realized how powerful and influential education can be. He was a man who saw tomorrow. He knew that education would be the key to opening many other missionary avenues, so he decided to build his ministry on it.

In the zones he opened schools; it drove off local slave traders and thus guaranteed the safety and freedom of schoolchildren. Once again, from the knowledge acquired in school, slavery as an institution was situated in a dangerous periphery, as with other detestable evils such as human sacrifice, the murder of twins and the segregation of women, etc. Not only these, he believed so much that, with children in school, well Christianized, paganism will receive a mortal blow. The schools he established were mainly for children, but the principle was: “Get the children and through them they get their parents.” The importance of schools can never be overemphasized. The saying has become popular: “If education is expensive, try ignorance.”

However, it has long been established that not everything that applies to education is really education. Not everything that goes by the name of “school” is really school. In today’s society, every incomplete building is a school. Each village has a school: secondary / commercial or nursery. The question then is: Is the presence of these many schools a positive sign of the future literary culture and of the future civilized society? What do all these ‘schools’ contribute? Aren’t some of these so-called schools part of the many small-scale emerging industries established by some smart ones simply to unite body and soul?

Most of these proliferating schools founded today are so-called vocational schools where students and all of us are also compelled to believe in the philosophy (if not theology) of self-reliance and self-reliance. I am self-employed if you wish. This is perfectly true when a vocational school is true to its name.

But we have long gotten used to these tricks and jargons, as we were told before the introduction of 6-3-3-4 into the Nigerian education system. But what happens when a school lacks all the necessary materials to help students acquire a skill? It is unfortunate that in some places, people without even a Level O Certificate establish and run these vocational schools themselves. Boldly labeling a school “Government Approved” on the sign doesn’t make it worth it. Our government can approve any thrash no thanks to the power of money. In many of these ‘business centers’ that pose as ‘schools’ there are no teachers, what more qualified teachers. What is the fate of a vocational school student who has no idea of ​​the common manual typewriter, talks less about the computer in this computer age, Accounting and Bookkeeping, Shorthand, Technical Drawing, Woodworking or other vocational courses that will help one? Being self-employed like we are supposed to believe?

People are not yet ready to sift the wheat from the chaff. Shanahan used the establishment of schools as a missionary and evangelistic strategy. The government creates schools for educational (literary) purposes. The Church, fully understanding her missionary mandate from her Lord, establishes schools as part of her mission and obligation to the people of God to impart literacy, genuine civilization, and morality. But today, the interest behind the establishment of so many schools, which we see here and there, is purely economic! The general interest is nothing more than money, because with the proliferation of these schools, society has not improved. This is daunting because the future of is at stake. This can only be described as academic genocide. People with negative interests pursue their target more vigorously (Luke 16: 8).

It is noted that some of these pseudo-schools prosper to the detriment of others, because they sometimes claim to be cheaper and better than the state schools, which are now in ruins, and part of the problem is the lack of payment of salaries and benefits of teachers. With the fall of government-owned schools, this should have been the opportunity for private schools to flourish for the betterment of society, but the same financial lens of Judas that things are seen through, the same greed that caused the collapse of government-owned schools, has a firmer control over their management and owners. Some have no classrooms, no curriculum, and no teachers, while some who have ‘teachers’ have dropouts as teachers on their payroll. This too is exploitation, a small-scale industry!

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